The Official Blog for Chicago Cubs Vine Line Magazine

After an eventful offseason, Cubs fans everywhere are ready to get the 2015 campaign underway. But perhaps no one is more excited than new manager Joe Maddon. The two-time AL Manager of the Year spent nine seasons in Tampa Bay before taking the reins as the 54th manager in Cubs franchise history in November.

We got a chance to catch up with the gregarious 61-year-old skipper during photo day at the Cubs’ Sloan Park training complex in Mesa, Arizona, Monday. In a wide ranging interview, he talked about his goals for 2015, his influences as a coach and building trust with a new group of players.

This is the first in our spring video series. We’ll be posting videos and stories from Sloan Park all spring, so make sure you’re watching the blog and our Twitter account, @cubsvineline.

Over the weekend, the Cubs hosted the 30th annual Cubs Convention, a sold-out event at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in downtown Chicago. Thousands of fans got the opportunity to mingle with current, former and future North Siders, in addition to getting autographs and taking in a wide variety of informative panels. Vine Line was there for all the action, from the opening ceremonies, to Cubs Bingo, to Friday Night with Ryan Dempster.

And in case you were unable to attend the three-day spectacle, catch up on what you missed with our panel recaps:

The Cubs welcomed the Lake View community to their annual tree-lighting ceremony Thursday to celebrate the holidays and conclude the team’s 100 Gifts of Service initiative. The 100 Gifts of Service projects were part of a yearlong program featuring Cubs players and associates engaging in community service in celebration of Wrigley Field’s 100th birthday season. Hall of Fame pitcher Fergie Jenkins was on hand along with Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts, Cubs Charities Chair Laura Ricketts, President of Business Operations Crane Kenney and representatives from many of the organizations that benefited from the team’s charitable acts this year. The large tree, donated by Christy Webber Landscapes, is located in front of the Cubs Store at the northwest corner of the Clark and Addison intersection. We were at Wrigley Field last night to help ring in the holiday season. And look for a feature story on the 100 Gifts of Service project in the January issue of Vine Line.

Robbie Gould knows a thing or two about playing in front of an enthusiastic fan base. The longtime Bears kicker, who has called Chicago home for the last decade, has quietly become one of the NFL’s greatest special teamers of all time. Vine Line caught up with the 32-year-old before a chilly, early-May showdown against the White Sox to talk about the similarities between the Bears and the Cubs, playing football at Wrigley Field and the pressure that comes with his chosen profession.

It took all of about three minutes for Chicago sports fans to fall in love with new Cubs manager Joe Maddon. In his introductory press conference at the Cubby Bear, the spry and entertaining 60-year-old opened with a quick story about meeting Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer in his beloved RV (the Cousin Eddie) and closed by offering to buy the entire press conference a drink. On Monday, Maddon became the 54th manager in franchise history, when he agreed to terms on a five-year contract through the 2019 season.

A two-time AL Manager of the Year during his nine seasons with Tampa Bay (2006-14), Maddon joins the Cubs after guiding the Rays to four postseason appearances (2008, 2010-11, 2013), including the organization’s lone World Series appearance in 2008 when he earned his first Manager of the Year award. He earned the honor again in 2011.

Here’s a quick look at some of the highlights from Monday’s press conference.

Have you ever dreamed of climbing inside the iconic Wrigley Field manual scoreboard? While you may never get the chance to turn one of the steel plates yourself, we give you the next best thing. For the October issue of Vine Line, we took a guided tour of the landmark structure with the people who work inside it 81 times per season.

The accompanying article can be found in the October issue of Vine Line.

The accompanying article can be found in the November issue of Vine Line.

There’s no denying it—the Cubs saw marked improvement in 2014. The team is still not where it needs to be, but there were clear signs of an organization on the rise, including a 41-40 home record. When we sat down with skipper Rick Renteria before the last home game of the season, he was already thinking about next year and areas where the Cubs needed to improve. We talked to him about the team’s growth, areas he wants to work on next year and making a personal connection with the fans.

Few people had a better summer than Chris Pratt, who is currently preparing to host Saturday Night Live‘s season premiere tomorrow night. The affable actor seamlessly made the transition from television star on Parks and Recreation to silver screen action hero with the release of Guardians of the Galaxy. He also has a history with baseball (well, baseball acting), having played former Athletics infielder Scott Hatteberg in the movie Moneyball. We caught up with the 35-year-old at Wrigley Field in early September when he was in town shooting an episode of his sitcom.

People around the game were surprised when the Cubs selected Kyle Schwarber with the fourth-overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft. In some scouts’ eyes, he was taken a half-round too soon. However, the catcher/outfielder quickly dispelled the notion he was a reach, playing at three levels and finishing his first professional season with a .344/.428/.634 (AVG/OBP/SLG) slash line and 18 home runs in 311 plate appearances. In the September issue of Vine Line, we caught up with Schwarber to discuss his whirlwind of a season, his first experiences as a pro, and whether or not he can stick at his original catcher position.

The major league season can be a grind. After 162 games, 26 road series, and the inevitable ups and downs of a professional schedule, you could forgive a manager for being a little drained. But when we sat down with Cubs skipper Rick Renteria early in September, he was energized by his team’s recent run of good play. We talked with him about developing the organization’s young talent, managing the expectations placed on top prospects and learning on the job as a first-year big league manager.

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